In this blog I present the results of my research into the landowning families of the British Isles and the country houses which they owned. Comments, especially in the form of corrections, additional information or new illustrations, are very welcome. Please use the Contact Form in the right hand side bar to contact me privately or the comments facility at the bottom of the page to make a public comment.

Sunday, 28 December 2014

The Anstruther family trace their lineage back to one William de Candela, who was lord of Anstruther in the East Neuk of Fife and died in about 1153. His grandson, Henry de Candela, dropped his patronymic in favour of the territorial name Anstruther, which his descendants have borne ever since. The outline genealogy of the family given in Burke's Peerage and Baronetage is clearly defective, or at least incomplete, for the period before the late 15th century, but Henry de Candela (fl. 1221) and a descendant of the same name (fl. 1292) were both patrons of Dryburgh Abbey in the Borders, and the second Henry went on crusade with King Louis IX. Andrew Anstruther (fl. 1483-1513) was granted a charter of his lands at Anstruther in 1483 and fought at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. His grandson, another Andrew Anstruther (d. 1547) was killed at the Battle of Pinkie in the lifetime of his father. The Anstruther estate descended to his son, John Anstruther, who gave it to his son, Sir James Anstruther (d. 1606) in 1571. Sir James was appointed Hereditary Grand Carver by King James VI of Scotland in 1585 and Master of the Royal Household in Scotland in 1595; offices still held by the family today. His son, Sir William Anstruther (d. 1649), came south with King James and was one of his Gentlemen of the Bedchamber. At this time, the principal seat of the Anstruthers was a square tower known as Dreel Castle, which stood between Castle Wynd and the Dreel Burn in Anstruther, and which was probably built or rebuilt in the 16th century. To provide more up-to-date accommodation, Sir William acquired the Easter Anstruther manse as a new manor house in 1637; after his death it was used by his sister and in 1713 it was sold to the town council and returned to use by the minister.

The Anstruther manse, used as a manor house by the Anstruthers 1637-1713, from an old postcard.

Sir William's brother, Sir Robert Anstruther (d. 1644/5) settled at Wheatley (Yorks) on an estate which he inherited from his wife's family. He was also a Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and served as a diplomat across Europe between 1612 and 1638. His son, Sir Philip Anstruther (c.1630-1702), was an active Royalist during the Civil War, and inherited the Anstruther estates when his uncle died in 1649. He was captured after the final Royalist defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, fined, and had his estates sequestrated. Dreel Castle may have been slighted during the Commonwealth period and was not re-occupied after Sir Philip recovered the estates at the Restoration, and the Manse was occupied by his aunt. He therefore built a new house called Anstruther Place in Anstruther Easter in 1663. The contract for building the house was made with Alexander Nesbit and provided for a four storey tower, 76 x 24 feet, with walls 4 feet thick. This castle was demolished in 1811 and its site is now occupied by the Clydesdale Bank.Sir Philip Anstruther (c.1630-1702) had seven sons, five of whom were knighted or became baronets. The eldest, Sir William Anstruther (d. 1711), was an MP from 1681-1707 and a Lord of Session as Lord Anstruther. He was responsible for buying an estate at Elie and building Elie House as the family's first proper country house, and at much the same time his younger brother bought the Balcaskie estate. Elie descended to Sir William's son, Sir John Anstruther (1673-1754), 1st bt., whose marriage to Lady Margaret Carmichael in 1717 eventually brought the Carmichael estates in Lanarkshire to their descendants a hundred years later. His son was Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt, who made a major addition to Elie House and carried out a landscaping scheme in about 1771 that involved the building of the surviving summerhouse known as the Lady's Tower, and the clearance of a hamlet called Balclevie to improve the view. It is said that an old woman whose home was demolished for these works cursed the family that only six generations of the family would live at Elie, which turned out to be true, but this was a decidedly procrastinated revenge, as Elie was not in fact sold until 1853!Sir John's heir was his son, Sir Philip Anstruther-Paterson (1752-1808), 3rd bt., who added his wife's surname to his own on inheriting her family estate at Eccles in Berwickshire, which he later sold. He died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother, Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th bt., who had already been made a baronet of Great Britain on retiring from Parliament to become Chief Justice of Bengal in 1798. His eldest son, Sir John Anstruther (d. 1818), 5th bt., came into the Carmichael estates on the death of the 6th Earl of Hyndford in 1817, and the family thereafter became the Carmichael-Anstruthers*. The 5th baronet died young and his widow produced their only son and heir a few days later; tragically, he died in a shooting accident while at Eton in 1831, so the title and estates reverted to his uncle, Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt. During a long life of expensive self-indulgence and financial incompetence he was bankrupted five times. He sold Elie House to the industrialist William Baird in 1853 and moved the focus of the family's interests to Lanarkshire, where Carmichael House was an eccentrically planned, because incomplete, 18th century house. He lived, however, mainly at Westraw House on the estate, and it was probably his son who added the Victorian shaped gables to Carmichael House.Sir Windham was succeeded his elder son, Sir Windham Charles James Carmichael-Anstruther (1825-98), 8th & 5th bt., who appears to have let Carmichael House. When he died the ownership passed in quick succession to his son, Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt., and his grandson, Sir Windham Frederick Carmichael-Anstruther (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt., who died without issue. The heir in 1928 was a grandson of the 8th baronet's younger half-brother, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt., who unroofed Carmichael House in 1954 and lived at East End House. When he died, the Scottish baronetcy passed to Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther (1921-2002), 7th bt. of Balcaskie; the British baronetcy created in 1798 became extinct. The Carmichael estate, however, and the Chieftainship of the Carmichael clan, passed to Richard Carmichael, who traces his descent from James Carmichael (d. 1737), 2nd Earl of Hyndford.* An account of the Carmichael family, Earls of Hyndford, is reserved for a future post.

Elie House, Fife

Elie House from the south, showing the original house of 1697 and, at the left, the end of the 18th century block.

Elie House: east front, showing the main block of c.1697 on the left, the rear of the 18th century block,
and the Victorian alterations.

The core of the house is a plain block of rubble stone with roll-moulded windows, built by Sir William Anstruther after he bought the estate in 1697, on the site of an earlier mansion house built by Sir William Scott in the late 16th century; some of the windows on the south elevation were apparently re-used from the earlier house, most of which was however retained as outbuildings until it was demolished in 1854-55. William Adam made some minor changes to the house in about 1740, including the addition of a carved pediment, but his scheme for rebuilding the house (illustrated in Vitruvius Scoticus) was not carried out. However, about 1762 a large ashlar-faced north-west wing was added to the design of George Paterson of Edinburgh, with a nine bay main front to the west that has a three bay centre and a central pediment: perhaps the one which Adam supplied, re-used. Inside, the south-west room on the principal floor has Rococo plasterwork.

Elie House: the west front of the new block added about 1770.

After Elie House was sold to William Baird, alterations were made in 1854-55, including the reconstruction of the east side with a new entrance porch and ogee-topped tower; the provision of an imperial stair to the original front door on the west, and the addition of Scots Baronial dormerheads on the south side. In the 1950s the house became a Retreat house for the Marie Reparatrice order of Nuns, and a large chapel was built for their use by Peter Whiston in 1958, as well as other utilitarian additions. In 2000, Elie was sold to a property developer who restored the house and converted it into 13 apartments: conversion and restoration was completed in 2012. The Elie estate with the exception of Elie House is owned and managed by the Trustees of the Elie Estate Trust under the stewardship of Sir Michael Nairn (4th Bt) and his son Alex Nairn, who now lives on the Estate with his wife and two young children.Descent: Sir William Scott (fl. early 17th cent.)... Sir William Anstruther (d. 1711), kt.; to son, Sir John Anstruther (1673-1754), 1st bt.; to son, Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Philip Anstruther (later Anstruther-Paterson) (1752-1808), 3rd bt.; to brother, Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th & 1st bt.; to son, Sir John Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther) (d. 1818), 5th & 2nd bt.; to son, Sir John Carmichael-Anstruther (1818-31), 6th & 3rd bt.; to uncle, Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt., who sold 1853 to Henry Baird (d. 1864); to son?, William Baird (1848-1918); to son, William James Baird (1893-1961), who sold 1928 to Sir Michael Nairn (1874-1952), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Michael George Nairn (1911-84), 3rd bt., who sold c.1953 to Marie Reparatrice Order, while retaining the estate; sold 2000 to a property developer who converted the house to flats. The Elie estate is owned by the Trustees of the Elie Estate Trust under the stewardship of Sir Michael Nairn (b. 1938), 4th bt. and his son, Alex Nairn.

Carmichael House, Lanarkshire

Carmichael House: the ruins of the west wing and central tower and corridor.

The Carmichaels held the lands from the 13th century and in 1710 there was a "good substantious old house, much repaired and well finished of late, very well planted, with a noble avenue from the house to the church". This house was demolished by John Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford (1701-67), who built the five-bay two-storey west wing of an intended new house in about 1754 and the matching east wing shortly before his death; his architect is unknown. The main block that would have connected them was never built, but instead a long connecting corridor was built, with a central tower pavilion. The present shaped and ogee gables with finials and urns are presumably a Victorian jazzing-up of the original plain hipped-roofed blocks, and give the building a rather exotic air.The house was occupied into the 20th century, but was unroofed in 1954-55. It now stands as a consolidated shell in the middle of a commercial forestry plantation. In the 1980s, the house was inherited by an accountant from New Zealand who established his claim to be chief of the Carmichael clan and pledged 'to restore the capot of my barony of Carmichael and the spiritual heartland of all Carmichaels worldwide' so that it will again become 'a modern baronial house for the future chiefs of Carmichael for the next few hundred years'. Since then, the plans have become a little more realistic, and in the mid-1990s there were plans for converting the house into holiday accommodation. However nothing has been done and the house is now on the buildings at risk register.Descent: Sir John Carmichael, kt.; to cousin, James Carmichael (1579-1672), 1st Lord Carmichael; to grandson, John Carmichael (1637/8-1710), 2nd Lord Carmichael & 1st Earl of Hyndford; to son, James Carmichael (d. 1737), 2nd Earl of Hyndford; to son, John Carmichael (1701-67), 3rd Earl of Hyndford; to widow, Jean Carmichael, Countess of Hyndford (d. 1807); to her husband's cousin, Thomas Carmichael (c.1750-1811), 5th Earl of Hyndford; to son, Andrew Carmichael (d. 1817), 6th Earl of Hyndford; to kinsman, Sir John Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther) (d. 1818), 5th & 2nd bt.; to son, Sir John Carmichael-Anstruther (1818-31), 6th & 3rd bt.; to uncle, Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt.; to son, Sir Windham Charles James Carmichael-Anstruther (1825-98), 8th & 5th bt.; to son, Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt.; to son, Sir Windham Frederick Carmichael-Anstruther (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt.; to second cousin, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt., who unroofed the house; to Richard Carmichael (b. c.1948).

Eastend House, Lanarkshire

East End House: the south front is now mainly 18th century but masks a 16th century or earlier core

On the southern boundary of the Carmichael estate, Eastend House was originally a separate estate occupied by a branch of the Carmichael family who separated from the senior line around 1500. It comprises a 37 room mansion house of four floors with the oldest visible part of the building, which is claimed to have a much more ancient nucleus, being an early 16th century keep. To this were added tall crowstepped wings to the east and west in 1673, and these in turn were joined up on the south by a typical 18th century bow-fronted addition which completely obscured the keep on that side. In the mid 19th century large “Scottish baronial” extensions were added to the west. Because of an outbreak of dry rot, the house is not currently habitable.

Anstruther, later Carmichael-Anstruther, family of Elie House, baronets

Anstruther, Sir James (d. 1606), kt. Son of John Anstruther (d. 1610) of Anstruther and his wife Margaret, daughter of George Clephane of Carslogie, born c.1550. He was knighted and appointed Hereditary Grand Carver, 1585 and Master of the Royal Household, 1595, by King James VI of Scotland. He married, 1571 (contract 7 November), Jean, daughter of Sir Thomas Scott of Abbotshall and had issue:(1) Sir William Anstruther (c.1575-1649), kt. (q.v.);(2) Jean Anstruther (d. c.1663); married 1st, 1609, as his third wife, James Douglas, son of 6th Earl of Morton and had issue a daughter; married 2nd, Sir William Riddell, and had issue a daughter; in the 1650s she apparently lived in the former manse house at Anstruther Easter which had been bought by her brother; died c.1659-63;(3) Elizabeth Anstruther; married 1st, Archibald Heryng of Drums; married 2nd, James Forret of Fingask;(4) Sir Robert Anstruther (1578-1645), kt. (q.v.);(5) James Anstruther (b. 1579), born 23 August 1579;(6) Agnes Anstruther (b. 1583), born 9 June and baptised 9 July 1583; married James Tweedie of Dryness;(7) Margaret Anstruther (b. 1588), born 12 November 1588; married James Tweedie of Drumelzier;(8) Grizel Anstruther (b. 1591; fl. 1638), born 2 November 1591; married Robert Alexander of Anstruther Easter and had issue;(9) Catherine Anstruther; married Robert Clephane.He was gifted the Anstruther estate and Dreel Castle by his father in 1571.He died in 1606, in the lifetime of his father.Anstruther, Sir William (c.1575-1649), kt. Elder son of Sir James Anstruther (d. 1606), kt., and his wife Jean, daughter of Sir Thomas Scott of Abbotshall, born about 1575. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1609). In 1594 he so offended King James VI that he was sent into exile abroad, but he regained favour and was made a Knight Banneret, 1603, and appointed a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King James VI & I and a Gentleman Usher of the Bedchamber to King Charles I. He married, 1601, Euphemia, daughter of Sir Andrew Wemyss of Myrecairney (Fife) and a lady-in-waiting to the Queen (Anne of Denmark), and had issue:(1) Anne Anstruther.He inherited the Anstruther estate and Dreel Castle from his father in 1606, and in 1637 bought the manse of Anstruther Easter as a new manor house.He died in 1649.Anstruther, Sir Robert (1578-1645), kt. Younger son of Sir James Anstruther (d. 1606), kt., and his wife Jean, daughter of Sir Thomas Scott of Abbotshall, baptised at Anstruther Wester, 23 April 1578. Educated partly at the Danish court, where he was sent as a page, 1598, and in 1603 he was sent to Scotland with a gift of falcons by King Christian IV. From 1612-38 he was fairly continuously employed as an ambassador in diplomatic missions across Europe by King James VI & I and King Charles I; he also had the confidence of King Christian IV. On one celebrated evening, about 1620, Christian IV was so pleased with Anstruther that he resigned the Danish Crown to him with which he was invested for the duration of a feast*.He married, 22 April 1617 as a child bride, Mary (d. 1652), daughter of Sir Robert Swift, kt., of Doncaster, and had issue, perhaps among other children who died young:(1) William Anstruther (b. 1625; d. by 1644), born 5 February 1625; educated at Aberdeen University (admitted 1641); died unmarried in the lifetime of his father;(2) Christian Anstruther (b. 1627), baptised in English church at Hamburg (Germany), 12 July 1627; probably died young;(3) Robert Anstruther (b. c.1629; fl. 1657) of Wheatley; married, before 1652, Anne alias Jane, daughter of Sir John Corbet, bt. of Stoke-upon-Tern (Salop) and had issue a daughter;(4) Sir Philip Anstruther (c.1630-1702), kt. (q.v.);(5) Elizabeth (alias Ursula?) Anstruther (fl. 1657); married George Austen of Shalford;(6) Sarah Anstruther (b. c.1644; fl. 1657), possibly the person of that name baptised at Doncaster, 29 October 1644;(7) Sophia Anstruther (d. by 1652).He inherited an estate at Wheatley near Doncaster (Yorks) in right of his wife, and passed this to his eldest son.He died 6 January 1644/5 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, 9 January 1644/5. His widow died in London, 1652.* A more elaborate version of this story, which reports that Anstruther kept the King drunk for three days and took advantage of his incapacity to pass a number of laws, is no doubt apocryphal!Anstruther, Sir Philip (c.1630-1702), kt. Second son of Sir Robert Anstruther (1578-1645), kt., and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Swift, kt., of Doncaster, born about 1630. An active Royalist during the Civil War, he was knighted at Perth, October 1650, but after being captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, he was fined by the Commonwealth authorities, and his estates sequestrated until the Restoration. MP for Fifeshire in Scottish Parliament, 1665, 1667, 1678. Lt-Col. in Fife and Kinross Militia, 1682. He married, 1647 (contract 15 July), Christian, daughter of Gen. Sir James Lumsden of Innergelly, a military commander under King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and had issue:(1) Sir William Anstruther (c.1655-1711), kt. (q.v.);(2) Sir James Anstruther (c.1656-82), kt., of Airdrie, Crail (Fife); Principal Clerk of the Bills; married Katherine (who m2, 1683 (contract 19 December), Maj. Andrew White (d. 1686), Governor of Edinburgh Castle, and had issue; m3, c.1687, Lord Edward Murray and had further issue), daughter of John Skene of Hallyards, and had issue one son (General Philip Anstruther (1682-1760), who enlarged Airdrie House to the design of William Adam but died without issue, leaving the Airdrie estate to Sir John Anstruther, 2nd bt., for whom see below) and one daughter; died by December 1682;(3) Sir Robert Anstruther (1658-1737), 1st bt., of Balcaskie; for whom see my post on that family;(4) Sophia Anstruther (b. 1660), baptised 7 August 1660;(5) Sir Philip Anstruther (1661-1722) of Anstrutherfield, baptised 24 December 1661; Capt. in Earl of Tullibardine's regiment; married, 24 December 1699 at Edinburgh, Elizabeth Hamilton and had issue one son and three daughters (including Jean/Jane Anstruther, who married George Ainslie of Bordeaux and Pilton); died 1722;(6) Anna Anstruther (b. 1663), baptised 2 February 1663;(7) Mary Anstruther (b. 1664), baptised 13 August 1664;(8) Sir Alexander Anstruther (d. 1743) of Newark, St Monans (Fife); advocate and joint Clerk of the Bills; also merchant and smuggler, in which capacity he was prosecuted in 1719 for 'man-stealing' (i.e. kidnapping) witnesses against him, but acquitted; he got into further difficulties over Government funds placed in his hands to be employed in giving bounties on the curing of herring in St Monans, and in 1725 was obliged to assign his estate, and also his Clerkship of the Bills, to his nephew, Sir John Anstruther of Elie, in payment of £11,000 "advanced to procure his pardon for certain alleged offences for which he had been lately committed"; again detained as a debtor in the Kings Bench and later the Fleet Prison, London, 1736-39; married, 1694 (contract 8 March), Jean (1670-1739/40), daughter of David Leslie, 2nd Lord Newark (who claimed and used her father's title after his death), and had issue three sons and six daughters (two of the sons in turn also used the title); died 1743(9) twin, David Anstruther (b. 1669), baptised 10 April 1669; died young;(10) twin, John Anstruther (b. 1669), baptised 10 April 1669; died young.He inherited the Anstruther estates from his uncle in 1649. Dreel Castle appears to have been slighted in the 1650s and he built a new house, Anstruther Place, in 1663. He purchased the Airdrie estate between Anstruther and Crail (Fife) in 1674 and left this to his second son.He died in 1702.

Lord Anstruther

Anstruther, Sir William (c.1655-1711), kt., Lord Anstruther. Eldest son of Sir Philip Anstruther (d. 1702), kt., and his wife Christian, daughter of Gen. Sir James Lumsden of Innergelly, born about 1655. MP for Fifeshire, 1681-1707, in the Scottish Parliament; Commissioner of Supply for Fife, 1685, 1689, 1690, 1704; Commissioner of the Exchequer, 1687; JP for Fife, 1690. For his loyalty to the Protestant, Williamite cause he was appointed a Lord of Session as Lord Anstruther, 1689, despite an apparent lack of legal training; and later sworn of the Privy Council, 1692. He was a great book collector, whose library remained at Elie until 1832, and he published, against the advice of his friends who thought poorly of the quality, a volume of essays and verse entitled Essays, Moral and Divine, 1701; after his death his son purchased the unsold copies and suppressed them. He married, 1677 (contract 5 July 1677), Lady Helen Hamilton (1656-1708), daughter of John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington, and had issue:(1) Sir John Anstruther (1673-1754), 1st bt. (q.v.).He purchased the Elie estate in 1697 and built a new house there shortly afterwards. He inherited the Anstruther estates from his father in 1702.He died 24 January 1711 and was buried at Holyrood Church, Edinburgh; his will was proved 19 September 1711. His wife was buried 25 April 1708.

Sir John Anstruther, 1st bt.

Anstruther, Sir John (1678-1754), 1st bt. Only recorded child of Sir William Anstruther (d. 1711), Lord Anstruther of Elie House (Fife) and his wife Lady Helen, daughter of John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington, baptised 19 April 1678. He was created a baronet of Nova Scotia (as 'of Anstruther'), 6 January 1700.He travelled abroad for his health in 1711-13, visiting Ghent, Aix-la-Chapelle, Paris, Turin and Venice. Whig MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1702-07 in the Scottish Parliament and 1708-11, 1713-15 in the British Parliament; and for Fifeshire, 1715-41; Master of the Kings Works in Scotland, 1727-43 (then largely a sinecure); a police commissioner for Scotland from 1743. He married, 24 January 1716/7 at Edinburgh, Lady Margaret Carmichael (d. 1721), eldest daughter of James Carmichael (d. 1737), 2nd Earl of Hyndford, and had issue:(1) Helen Anstruther (b. 1717), baptised 6 November 1717;(2) Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt. (q.v.);(3) James Anstruther (b. 1720), baptised 11 June 1720; died young.He inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his father in 1711.He died 21 September 1753 and was buried with his wife at Elie; his will was proved 28 August 1754. His wife died 6 November 1721 and was buried at Elie.Anstruther, Sir John (1718-99), 2nd bt. Only surviving son of Sir John Anstruther (1673-1754) and his wife Lady Margaret, daughter of James Carmichael, 2nd Earl of Hyndford, baptised 27 December 1718. Educated at Glasgow University (admitted 1733) and probably undertook a Grand Tour c.1739, when he visited Turin. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 21 September 1753. MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1766-74; 1780-82, 1790-93. His interests included numismatics and the improvement of his estates, and with his brother-in-law, Robert Fall, he founded the Anstruther Whale Fishing Co. in 1756. His wealth, arrogance, and extravagant building projects made him locally unpopular in Fife. At the end of his life he published two treatises on agriculture, Drill Husbandry, 1796, and Hoeing Husbandry, 1798. He married, 4 October 1750, Janet (d. 1802), daughter of James Fall of Dunbar, merchant and MP (known as Jenny Fa'a, described as "a coquette and a beauty" and as a lady of great ability). They had issue:(1) Sir Philip Anstruther (later Anstruther-Paterson) (1752-1808), 3rd bt. (q.v.);(2) Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th and 1st bt. (q.v.);(3) James Anstruther (b. 1754), baptised 18 July 1754; died young;(4) William Anstruther (b. & d. 1756), baptised 17 February 1756; died in infancy and was buried 19 February 1756;(5) Col. Robert Anstruther (1757-1831), baptised 31 December 1757; educated at Harrow, 1770-71; served in 4th Horse, 1779-91 (Lt., 1783) and 7th Dragoons (Capt., 1788); retired, 1791; MP for Anstruther Easter, 1793-94;Colonel of Loyal Tay Fencibles, 1795; Lt-Col of East Fife Volunteers, 1803; Col. of 2nd Fife Militia, 1808; married, 9 May 1801, Anne (d. 1804), daughter of Col. John Nairne and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 7 March 1831;(6) Margaret Anstruther (1759-61), baptised 17 July 1759; died young and was buried at Anstruther Easter, 29 December 1761.(7) Jean (alias Jane) Anstruther (1760-1819), baptised 13 August 1760; married, 10 September 1785 at St. Marylebone (Middx), Charles Parker (c.1755-95) of Harefield (Middx) and had issue one son and four daughters; buried 23 November 1819 at Harefield.He inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his father in 1754, and in 1760 he inherited the Airdrie estate (between Anstruther and Crail (Fife)) from his cousin, Gen. Philip Anstruther (sold 1783). He entailed his other estates in 1778. He was responsible for major additions to Elie House and for landscaping the grounds there c.1771; works which involved the clearance of Balclevie hamlet to improve the view.He died 4 July 1799; his will was proved later that month. His widow died 17 February 1802, aged 85.Anstruther (later Anstruther-Paterson), Sir Philip (1752-1808), 3rd bt. Eldest son of Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt., and his wife Janet (d. 1802), daughter of James Fall of Dunbar, born 12 and baptised 13 January 1752 in Edinburgh. Educated at St. Andrews University. Served in 1st Dragoon Guards, 1770-75 (Lt., 1773); MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1774-77. He changed his name to Anstruther-Paterson in 1782 on inheriting the Eccles estate from his father-in-law. He succeeded his father as 3rd bt., 4 July 1799. He married, 17 February 1778 at Eccles (Berwicks), Anne (d. 1822), only child of Sir John Paterson, 3rd bt. and his wife (later Baroness Polwarth in her own right), but died without issue.He inherited the Eccles estate in Berwickshire in right of his wife in 1782, but sold it before his death; he inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his father in 1802.He died 5 January 1808. His widow successfully claimed the Barony of Polwarth in 1818, and died 11 March 1822.

Sir John Anstruther, 4th & 1st bt.

Anstruther, Sir John (1753-1811), 4th & 1st bt. Second son of Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt., and his wife Janet (d. 1802), daughter of James Fall of Dunbar, born 27 March 1753 at Elie House. Educated at Glasgow University; admitted to Faculty of Advocates, 1774; and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1774; called to bar, 1779; bencher, 1793; treasurer, 1807); Receiver General of Bishops' Rents in Scotland, 1780-1811; Solicitor General to Prince of Wales, 1793-95; circuit judge, North Wales circuit, 1793-97; counsel to Board of Control, 1794-97; Whig MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1783-90, 1796-97, 1806-11, and for Cockermouth, 1790-96; while in Parliament he took a leading part in the impeachment proceedings against Warren Hastings; knighted, 4 October 1797 and created a baronet of Great Britain (as 'of Fort William, Bengal'), 18 May 1798; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bengal (India), 1798-1806; appointed Privy Councillor, 1806; succeeded his brother as 4th bt. of Anstruther in 1808. He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Oxford (DCL), 1810. He married, 14 August 1784, Maria Isabella (d. 1833), daughter of Edward Brice of Berners St., London and had issue:(1) Sir John Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther) (1785-1818), 5th & 2nd bt. (q.v.);(2) twin, Sir Windham Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther) (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt. (q.v.);(3) twin, Alexander Anstruther (b. & d. 1793), born 6 March and died 24 May 1793;(4) Marianne Anstruther (1797-1859), born 18 January 1797; married, 27 March 1828, her cousin James Anstruther WS (1803-67) (who m2., 11 October 1866, Annabella Agnes Anderson), and had issue; died 19 June 1859 and was buried in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.He inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his brother in 1808.He died 26 January 1811. His widow died 14 June 1833.Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther), Sir John (1785-1818), 5th & 2nd bt. Elder son of Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th & 1st bt., and his wife Marcia, daughter of Edward Brice of Berners St., London, born in Lincolns Inn Fields, London, 1 June and baptised 4 July 1785 at St George's Bloomsbury, London. Educated at Eton, 1799-1802, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1803; BA 1806) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1806). Receiver General of Bishops' Rents in Scotland, 1811-18. Succeeded his father as 5th and 2nd baronet, 26 January 1811. MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1811-18. He married, 11 January 1817, Jessie (c.1795-1881), daughter of Maj-Gen. David Dewar of Gilston House (Fife), and had issue:(1) Sir John Carmichael-Anstruther (1818-31), 6th & 3rd bt., born posthumously, 6 February 1818 and succeeded to the baronetcies at birth; educated at Eton, where he was accidentally shot and killed by a schoolfellow, 31 October 1831; buried in chapel of Merton College, Oxford, 12 November 1831.He inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his father in 1811, and the Carmichael House and Westraw estates (Lanarks) on the death of Andrew Camichael, 6th Earl of Hyndford, in 1817.He died of typhus, 28 January 1818; administration of his effects was granted in 1821. His widow married 2nd, 27 March 1828 in Edinburgh, Rev. Robert Bullock Marsham DCL (c.1786-1880) of Caversfield (Oxon), Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and died 10 November 1881, aged 86.

Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther

Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther), Sir Windham (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt. Younger son of Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th & 1st bt., and his wife Marcia, daughter of Edward Brice of Berners St., London, born in Lincolns Inn Fields, London, 6 March 1793. Educated at Eton, 1808. An officer in the Coldstream Guards, 1810-17 (Capt.); he served in the Peninsula Wars, but was led into debt by his 'fashionable and expensive follies' and bankrupted in 1828; he then for some years supported himself as an actor in provincial theatre at Margate and other south coast resorts. He unexpectedly succeeded his nephew in the family baronetcies and estates, 31 October 1831, and at the time it was noted that the estates were worth £15,000 a year and that he inherited a considerable capital accumulated during his nephew's minority. Within three years he had run through this inheritance and accumulated debts of nearly £100,000, and he was bankrupted again in 1834, 1838 and 1847; in 1832 he also sold the library formed by his ancestor, Sir William Anstruther, in the late 17th century. His financial position must have been eased when he succeeded in breaking the entail on the Elie and Anstruther estates and selling them in 1853 for £145,000, but in the 1850s and 1860s he had periods of residence at Boulogne, the traditional home of the impecunious Briton, and he was bankrupted again in 1862. Despite his financial embarrassments, he served in the Lanarkshire County Militia from 1831 (Major, 1846) and was appointed JP and DL for Lanarkshire, 1846; when in England he also served on a number of honorary committees for charities.He married 1st, 24 July 1824 at Dover (Kent), Meredith Maria (1807-41), daughter of Charles Wetherell; 2nd, 10 May 1841, Anne Constance (c.1811-56), daughter of Allen Williamson Grey; and 3rd, 30 September 1859 at St Pancras (Middx), Mary Anne (c.1823-1905), daughter of John Parsons, and had issue:(1.1) Sir Windham Charles James Carmichael-Anstruther (1824-98), 8th & 5th bt. (q.v.);(2.1) Marianna Constance Carmichael-Anstruther (c.1841-83), baptised 17 January 1842; lived at Bournemouth; died unmarried, 2 November 1883; her will was proved 20 February 1884 (estate in England, £1,745);(2.2) Marian Alice Carmichael-Anstruther (1844-1929), baptised 5 August 1844; married, 18 February 1875, Capt. Charles Roger (d. 1907) of Chiefswood, Melrose but had no issue; died 2 April 1929 at Montreux (Switzerland);(2.3) Windham George Conway Carmichael-Anstruther (1845-98) (q.v.).He inherited the Elie, Anstruther and Carmichael House estates from his nephew in 1831, but broke the entail on the Elie and Anstruther estates and sold them in 1853. When in Britain he lived mainly at Westraw House (Lanarks), a secondary house on the Carmichael estate.He died at Boulogne (France), 8 September 1869 and was buried 15 September in Kensal Green Cemetery; his will was proved 27 July 1870 (effects under £2,000). His first wife died 10 April 1841 at Brighton. His second wife died 21 June 1856 at Boulogne (France). His widow died 31 December 1905.Carmichael-Anstruther, Sir Windham Charles James (1824-98), 8th & 5th bt. Only son of Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt., and his first wife, Meredith Maria, daughter of Charles Wetherell, born 8 October 1824 in Brussels (Belgium). Educated at Merton College, Oxford (matriculated 1843). He succeeded his father in the family estates and baronetcies, 15 September 1869. Conservative MP for South Lanarkshire, 1874-80; Convenor of Lanarkshire, 1894; DL and Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire, 1890-98. Listed his recreations as golf, curling and shooting and established a curling rink at Carmichael; was patron of the Carmichael Hare Coursing Meeting and a steward of the Lanark Races. He married, 4 September 1872 at Harthill (Cheshire), Janetta (1839-91), only daughter of Robert Barbour of Bolesworth Castle (Cheshire) and had issue:(1) Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt. (q.v.).He inherited the Carmichael House estate from his father in 1869. In 1883 the estates consisted of 11,814 acres in Lanarkshire and 584 acres in Ayrshire, worth £9,534 a year. He was probably responsible for making alterations to Carmichael House.He died at Carmichael House, 26 January 1898; his will was proved March 1898 (estate £312,298). His wife died at Carmichael House, 11 September 1891.Carmichael-Anstruther, Sir Windham Robert (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt. Only son of Sir Windham Charles James Carmichael-Anstruther (1824-98), 8th & 5th bt., and his wife Janetta, daughter of Robert Barbour of Bolesworth Castle (Cheshire), born 26 March 1877. Educated at Trinity College, Oxford (BA 1898). 2nd Lieutenant in Lanarkshire Imperial Yeomanry; JP for Lanarkshire, 1900-03. He succeeded his father in the family estates and baronetcies, 26 January 1898. Like his father, he was a patron of hare coursing. He married, 16 April 1901 at St Michaels, Chester Square, London, Frederica Sylvia (d. 1958), youngest daughter of Sir Frederick Darley KCMG, Lt-Governor of New South Wales, and had issue:(1) Sir Windham Frederick Carmichael-Anstruther (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt. (q.v.).He inherited the Carmichael House estate from his father in 1898.He died 26 October 1903; his will was proved in November 1903 (estate £85,584). His widow married 2nd, 2 December 1905, Maj. Hon. Algernon Henry Charles Hanbury-Tracy (d. 1915), second son of 4th Baron Sudeley and had issue one son and one daughter; she died 5 September 1958.Carmichael-Anstruther, Sir Windham Frederick (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt. Only son of Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt., and his wife Frederica Sylvia, daughter of Sir Frederick Darley KCMG, Lt-Governor of New South Wales, born 30 April 1902. He succeeded his father in the family estates and baronetcies, 26 October 1903. Educated at Oxford. He married, 23 July 1925, Katherine Mary (1900-73), daughter of Daniel Arthur Neilson of Wentbridge House, Pontefract (Yorks WR), but had no issue.He inherited the Carmichael House estate from his father in 1903 and came of age at 25 in 1927. At his death the estate and titles passed to his second cousin, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt.He died 29 November 1928; his will was proved May 1929 (estate £1,292). His widow married 2nd, 25 September 1930 (div. 1940), John Robert Follett (d. 1953), only son of Brig-Gen. Gilbert Burrell Spencer Follett and had issue; she died in 1973.Carmichael-Anstruther, Windham George Conway (1845-98). Only son of Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt., and his second wife, Anne Constance, daughter of Allen Williamson Grey, born 30 July and baptised 25 August 1845. Educated at Rugby School; served briefly in 85th Foot (Ensign, 1865-66). He married, 14 February 1867 at St Pancras (Middx), Ellen Anne Katherine (1847-1938), elder daughter of John Adam, a surgeon in the East India Company's service, and had issue:(1) Maud Ellen Constance Carmichael-Anstruther (1868-1925), born 22 January 1868; married, 6 February 1888 (div. 1898), Maj-Gen. John Christopher Swann (d. 1939) of Indian Army, son of Very Rev. Robert Swann, Dean of Nassau, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 25 January 1925; will proved 17 April 1925 (estate £204);(2) Gerald Yorke Carmichael-Anstruther (1871-1910) (q.v.);(3) Mildred Helen Mary Carmichael-Anstruther (1873-1939), born 16 February 1873 at Dinard (France); married, 19 December 1895, John Christopher Nevile, son of Rev. Christopher Nevile of Thorney Hall (Notts), and had issue; died 24 May 1939; will proved 11 March 1940 (estate £203);(4) Eric George Basil Carmichael-Anstruther (1874-1934), born 10 February 1874 at Dinard (France); in the 1890s he grew fruit in California and tea in Ceylon before volunteering during Boer War and serving in the ranks in the Army Service Corps; he later worked in the South African Civil Service before taking up farming in the Cape Colony; married, 22 March 1902 at St James, Fulham, Adelaide Elizabeth (c.1878-1938), daughter of William Barnfather, gent., and had issue one son; died 7 January 1934; will proved 7 February 1934 (estate £117);(5) Hugh John Elphinstone Carmichael-Anstruther (1875-1960), born 27 November and baptised 24 December 1875; civil engineer; Capt. in Royal Welsh Fusiliers and Assistant Provost-Marshal in Matabeleland; served in Boer War and First World War; in Home Guard in Second World War; married, 11 September 1906 at St John, Putney, Ada Marie (d. 1958), daughter of Thomas Clark of Putney and had issue one daughter; died 6 January 1960; will proved 22 March 1961 (estate £662);(6) Muriel Vere Carmichael-Anstruther (1881-1942), born 10 April 1881; married, 17 January 1912, Harold Adam Whyte (d. 1932), son of Robert Whyte of Forfar; died 4 October 1942.He died 13 September and was buried 19 September 1898 at Folkestone (Kent). His wife died 29 March 1938.Carmichael-Anstruther, Gerald Yorke (1871-1910). Eldest son of Windham George Conway Carmichael-Anstruther (1845-98) and his wife Ellen Anne Katherine, daughter of John Adam HEICS, born 24 January 1871. Educated at Shrewsbury School and subsequently entered the insurance business with Standard Life Assurance Co.; emigrated to South Africa, where he became an accountant; returned to UK, 21 June 1910 but died a week later. He married, 1900 at Port Elizabeth (South Africa), Ellen Caroline (d. 1902), daughter of J. Milne of Cape Colony, and had issue:(1) Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt. (q.v.).He died 28 June 1910 in London. His wife died in 1902 in South Africa.

Sir W.E.F. Carmichael-Anstruther

Carmichael-Anstruther, Sir Windham Eric Francis (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt. Only son of Gerald Yorke Carmichael-Anstruther (1871-1910) and his wife Ellen Caroline, daughter of J. Milne of Cape Colony, born 29 May 1900 in South Africa. Orphaned at the age of 10 and was brought up by relatives in England. Educated at Marlborough College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst, but the First World War having ended before he completed his training, he became an explorer and surveyor in Canada until he succeeded his second cousin in the family baronetcies and estate, 29 November 1928. DL for Lanarkshire, 1940. Served in Second World War with Royal Observer Corps (Commandant of 34 and 38 Group). He married 1st, 4 April 1932 (div. 1948), Fay Sibyl Marie, only child of Ernest Rechnitzer of London and Warninglid Grange (Sussex); and 2nd, 26 July 1948 (div.), Joanne (c.1919-2006), daughter of William Coates of Brighton (Sussex), but had no issue.He inherited the baronetcies and Carmichael House estate from his second cousin, Sir Windham Frederick Carmichael-Anstruther (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt., in 1928, but unroofed the house in 1954. At his death the Carmichael House estate passed to Richard Carmichael, a descendant in the female line of the 2nd Earl of Hyndford. He died 8/9 April 1980, when the baronetcy of Nova Scotia passed to his distant kinsman, Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther (1921-2002), 7th bt. of Balcaskie, and the baronetcy of Great Britain became extinct. His first wife published Poland's part in the War, 1943 and Old Polish Legends, 1945 and married 2nd, 1948, Capt. Jerzy Bondorowski (b. 1910); her date of death is unknown. His second wife died 24 April 2006, aged 86.SourcesBurke's Peerage & Baronetage, 2003, pp. 111-14; W. Wood, The East Neuk of Fife: its history and antiquities, 1887, p. 356 ff; A.W. Anstruther, History of the family of Anstruther, 1923; J. Gifford, The buildings of Scotland: Fife, 1988, pp. 72, 211; M. Dean & M. Miers, Scotland's Endangered Houses, 1990, p. 103.Location of archivesCarmichael-Anstruther family, baronets: estate papers, 17th-20th cent. [Private Collection; contact National Register of Archives for Scotland]Coat of armsQuarterly, 1st and 4th, argent, three piles sable (for Anstruther); 2nd & 3rd, argent, a fess wreathed azure and gules (for Carmichael).Notes and Queries on this postFor notes and queries on this post, see here.

Sunday, 21 December 2014

The Anstruther family have owned land in the East Neuk of Fife since the 12th century, and were based first at Dreel Castle in Anstruther. They have spawned numerous branches which have become established as independent gentry families, amongst the earliest of whom were the Anstruthers of Balcaskie. This branch of the family commences with Sir Robert Anstruther (1658-1737), 1st bt., third of the five sons of Sir Philip Anstruther (d. 1702) of Anstruther, all of whom were knighted or received baronetcies. Sir Robert demonstrated loyalty to the Protestant succession in 1689-90 and was rewarded with a lucrative appointment as one of the joint receivers of inland excise in Scotland. In 1696 he became one of the first Directors of the Bank of Scotland, and he was also intermittently a MP, at first in the Scottish Parliament and after 1707 in the British parliament in London. He was made a baronet in 1694 and in 1698 was able to buy the Balcaskie estate near Pittenweem, where the house had been enlarged and modernised by Sir Robert Bruce in the 1660s and 1670s. His eldest son, Sir Philip Anstruther (1688-1763), 2nd bt., was bred to the law and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1711. He inherited Balcaskie in 1737 and enlarged the estate in 1745, before making some changes to the house in about 1750. Sir Philip must have spent a good deal of time in Edinburgh, but his eldest son, Sir Robert Anstruther (1733-1818), 3rd bt., although also trained as an Advocate, spent most of his time at Balcaskie and devoted himself to rural pursuits. Like his father he added to the estate, buying a property at Watten in Caithness. The younger sons in each generation went mainly into the Army, and chiefly into the regiment named after their kinsman, Colonel Preston, and known later as Col. Anstruther's regiment or the Cameronians; after 1750 became the 26th Foot. The first Sir Robert had five sons in the army, including one who was killed at the Battle of Preston in 1715 and another who became a Lt-General and bought himself a small estate at Balgarvie (Fife); Sir Philip had three sons in the army, including two full Colonels, one of whom ended his days as Governor of Guernsey. The 3rd baronet's eldest son, Brig-Gen. Robert Anstruther (1768-1809), played a distinguished part in the Mediterranean campaigns of Sir Ralph Abercromby and in the Peninsuala War of 1808-09, but died 'of exhaustion' during the retreat to Corunna in 1809, and was buried alongside the hero Sir John Moore, who was killed at the Battle of Corunna. His younger brother, Sir Alexander Anstruther (1769-1819) was a barrister, who became a judge in India and when he returned to Scotland bought the small Thirdpart estate in Fife. Balcaskie passed to Brig-Gen. Robert Anstruther's son, Sir Ralph Abercromby Anstruther (1804-63), 4th bt., who came of age in 1825 and made alterations to the house and gardens between 1827 and 1834 and again in 1848 and 1856. Having inherited the estates and title as a child, his military career (in the Grenadier Guards) was brief, and it was left to his sons to continue the military tradition of the family. His eldest son, Sir Robert Anstruther (1834-86), 5th bt., was a Lt-Col. in the Grenadiers and saw action in Canada and Crimea, although he was invalided home from the latter conflict with dysentry. After inheriting Balcaskie, he became MP for Fife and Lord Lieutenant of the county - the first member of the family to hold this office. In 1883 the estates consisted of 22,597 acres in Caithness and 2,121 acres in Fife, worth £9,062 a year. The principal seats were Balcaskie and Watten (Caithness).Lt-Col. Sir Ralph William Anstruther (1858-1934), 6th bt., succeeded his father in 1886 and retired from the Royal Engineers shortly afterwards, although he continued to play an active role in local military affairs in Fife, as officer commanding a battalion of the Royal Highlanders. Like his father, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Fife, 1923-34. His only son, Capt. Robert Edward Anstruther (1890-1921), died in his father's lifetime of wounds received in the First World War, so the heir to Balcaskie in 1934 was his young son, Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther (1921-2002), 7th bt. After Eton and Cambridge, Sir Ralph had twenty years in the Coldstream Guards, and then found a place in the Queen Mother's household, where he was Treasurer for nearly thirty years. In 1980 he succeeded a distant kinsman as 12th baronet of Anstruther, and as Hereditary Carver to the Sovereign in Scotland, but he was unmarried and without issue, so both the family baronetcies passed on his death to his second cousin once removed, Sir Ian Fife Campbell Anstruther (1922-2007), 8th and 13th bt. Balcaskie was vested in a trust, but became the home of Sir Ian's second son, Toby Anstruther (b. 1967) and his family. Sir Ian was succeeded in his titles by his elder son, Sir Sebastian Paten Campbell Anstruther (b. 1962), who also inherited the estate his father had bought at Barlavington in Sussex. The family's current wealth derives mainly from a substantial estate at South Kensington in London, which Sir Ian inherited unexpectedly from his mother's sister in 1960, and which includes Thurloe Square and Alexander Square.

Balcaskie House, Fife

The earliest reference to the estate is in a royal charter of 1223, when it was held by the Balcaskie family, but it passed by marriage to the Strang family in about 1362. It was probably David John Strang (fl. 1575-1613), who built an L-shaped tower house which is the earliest part of the present building to survive, since a monogram of his initials appears in the pediment above the garden entrance, but some authorities attribute this building to Alexander Moncrieff in the 1620s. The original building is still detectable by its thicker walls, and is now represented by the four-storey block with a crow-stepped chimney-gable at the western end of the north front, and about half of the south front. There was a projecting spiral staircase in a semi-circular tower on the west front.In 1665 the estate was bought by Sir William Bruce, scion of a minor branch of the great Bruce clan, who had sought refuge from the Commonwealth regime in the 1650s as a merchant in Rotterdam, and who made himself useful to the future King Charles II by conveying messages to and from General Monck when the Restoration was being negotiated. As a result, Bruce was rewarded a baronetcy and a succession of posts in the Royal Works in the 1660s. Unlike many placemen he appears to have developed a genuine interest in and talent for architecture, and Sir John Clerk of Penicuik described him as 'the chief introducer of architecture in this country'. By 1670 he was advising on the reconstruction of Thirlestaine Castle (Berwicks) and after his appointment as Surveyor-General of the Kings Works in Scotland in 1671 he was responsible for remodelling Holyroodhouse. He cut his architectural teeth, however, at Balcaskie in 1668-74, at Leslie House (Fife) in 1667-72, and perhaps at Panmure House (Angus), where he may have played a role in the late 1660s. Nothing is known of his architectural education, although it was undoubtedly informed by his travels as a merchant in the Low Countries and northern France in the 1650s, and probably also by the study of engravings of contemporary English and French design. His early works, such as Balcaskie, are markedly less innovative than the later ones such as Kinross House, although they do show interesting evidence of his architectural experimentation.

Balcaskie House: north front of 1668-74. The centre was raised and altered c.1750, when the Venetian window was inserted, and again c.1830 when the porch was added by William Burn. Image: Nicholas Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

At Balcaskie, he made the house balanced and regular, although not entirely symmetrical, by constructing a new L-shaped block as a mirror image of the existing tower house. The open centre of the resulting broad U-shape he filled with a two-storey block, probably flat-roofed and balustraded. The work was carried out in 1668-74 by John Hamilton, mason and Andrew Waddell and Alexander Paterson, wrights.On the north front the old crow-stepped tower (which he may have heightened) is matched by another of the same height (but with only three storeys instead of four) placed at the other end of the facade. Outside these, he added the square towers with pyramidal roofs which also appear at the angles of the south front. Quite how the centre, between the two tower elements, was handled is not clear. Perhaps almost by accident, Balcaskie came to have a pioneering double-pile plan, with two lines of rooms placed back-to-back: it was a model which Bruce was to re-use in more studied terms in many of his later houses. It is also possible that Bruce was responsible for the curving walls and the compact side-pavilions to which they lead (although in my view these are more likely to be additions of c.1745-50, as John Gifford first suggested). If this Palladian layout is of Bruce's time, it is his greatest innovation, and especially remarkable as he did not buy a copy of Palladio's Quattro Libri until 1676: in all Britain only Stoke Bruern House and Berkeley House in London had such pavilions before 1674.In about 1750 Sir Philip Anstruther altered the centre of the north front, raising it to three storeys, and inserting the Venetian window in the centre. It seems most likely that the Palladian forecourt arrangement was also created at this time. Further changes were made to the north front in 1830-32, when William Burn added a Jacobean porch, and inserted a window either side of the Venetian window to bring more light into the gallery he created or redecorated on the first floor. Burn also made a Jacobethan stair to the first floor to provide a formal access to this room. The main rooms of the 17th century house are on the south front, where there was a state apartment extending the length of the house. It began at the west end with a double-cube ante room; next came a drawing room (now the library); then the state bedchamber (now the dining room), and finally a closet (now the breakfast room) in the south-east corner turret. The family rooms were on the second floor, where the Blue Room was probably Bruce's bedchamber and the Globe Room was probably his study. Most of these rooms have rich decorative plasterwork, which is probably largely by the English master-plasterer George Dunsterfield and his assistant William Lindores, both of whom also worked for Bruce at Thirlestaine and Holyroodhouse, and whose bills are preserved. The Blue Room has a low-relief ceiling with moulded ribs and simple motifs of cherubs, roses and thistles, and also the initials of Bruce and his wife, Dame Mary Halket. The Globe Room has a large globe-shaped pendant wrapped in bands of zodiac signs. The most elaborate ceilings are in the state rooms on the first floor: the library and dining room have painted central panels set in elaborate plasterwork surrounds. The paintings, representing Fame and Daedalus and Icarus respectively, are attributed to Jacob de Wet, several of whose bills survive in the family papers. The ceiling in the dining room is likely to be all of the 1670s, as Daedalus and Icarus is painted directly on the plaster, but the library ceiling appears to have been altered in the mid 18th century, judging by the mix of classical and more primitive motifs employed. The house was restored by Sir Ralph Anstruther in 1987, and again by the present owner.

On the south or garden front, the regularity of the house is a little less perfectly achieved, and the appearance is not helped by William Burn's alterations of 1830 for the 4th bt., which included lengthening the first floor windows and creating the balcony of cast iron which originally ran the whole width of the facade, but part of which has been removed in recent years. In 1856-58 David Bryce made further alterations to the western end of the house in his Scots Baronial style. He provided a large new main staircase, which involved the destruction of the original spiral staircase of the Strangs tower house. A bow window was also added to the western corner-tower on the south front.

Balcaskie House: the upper terrace and the axis aligned on the Bass Rock, 1994.
Image: Nicholas Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

Balcaskie House: the Lawn Terrace, showing the buttressing of the main terrace and one of the arches added by
W.S. Gilpin in 1827-32. Image: Nicholas Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

An important component of Sir William Bruce's scheme for Balcaskie was his layout of the grounds, with a series of three broad terraces descending from the house to the south, on an axis aligned on the Bass Rock, twelve miles away in the Firth of Forth: this arrangement still survives. The first terrace has a massive retaining wall strengthened at regular intervals by broad buttresses. The two lower terraces were originally planted as orchards. In 1827-32 Sir Ralph Anstruther, 4th bt., brought in William Sawrey Gilpin to make some changes. His most important additions were two broad flights of stone steps at either end of Bruce's massive retaining wall, linking the first two terraces, and the balustrade which tops the retaining wall. He also created a broad gravel walk between two stone arches along the top terrace. The parterre here was designed later, by William Andrews Nesfield, in 1847-48.Descent: David John Strange (fl. 1575-1613); to son, John Strang, who sold 1615 to Alexander Moncreiff; to David Moncrieff (d. 1629); to nephew, John Moncrieff (d. before 1647); to son, David Moncrieff (d. 1658); to son, John Moncrieffe, who sold 1665 to Sir William Bruce (c.1630-1710), architect, who greatly extended the house; sold 1684 to Sir Thomas Stewart of Grandtully, who sold 1698 to Sir Robert Anstruther (1658-1737), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Philip Anstruther (1688-1763), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Robert Anstruther (1733-1818), 3rd bt.; to grandson, Capt. Sir Ralph Abercromby Anstruther (1804-63), 4th bt.; to son, Lt-Col. Sir Robert Anstruther (1834-86), 5th bt.; to son, Lt-Col. Sir Ralph William Anstruther (1858-1934), 6th bt.; to grandson, Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther (1921-2002), 7th & 12th bt.; to kinsman, Tobias (k/a Toby) Alexander Campbell Anstruther (b. 1968).

Anstruther family of Balcaskie, baronets

Anstruther, Sir Robert (1658-1737), 1st bt. Third son of Sir Philip Anstruther (d. 1702) of Anstruther (Fife) and his wife Christian, daughter of Gen. Sir James Lumsden of Innergelly, baptised 24 September 1658. A merchant-burgess of Anstruther and one of the receivers of the customs there and in Bo'ness; burgess of Edinburgh, 1689 and Aberdeen, 1698; joint general receiver of supply and inland excise for Scotland, 1691-1707; joint farmer of the excise for Scotland, 1696-97; MP for Anstruther Easter, 1681-82 and for Anstruther Wester, 1702-07 in the Scottish Parliament and for Fife, 1709-10 in the British Parliament. Director of the Bank of Scotland, 1696. He was created 1st bt. of Wrea and Balcaskie, 28 November 1694. He married 1st, c.1684, Sophia (d. 1686), daughter and heir of David Kinnear of Kilmany (Fife), and for a time assumed the name of Kinnear, c.1684-86; he married 2nd, 12 March 1687 at Edinburgh, Jean, daughter and heir of William Monteith of Wrea (West Lothian), and 3rd, 13 September 1703 at Edinburgh, his cousin, Marion (d. 1743), daughter of Sir William Preston, 2nd bt. of Valleyfield, and had issue:(2.1) Sir Philip Anstruther (1688-1763), 2nd bt. (q.v.);(2.2) Capt. William Anstruther (1691-1715), baptised in Edinburgh, 11 September 1691; an officer in the 26th Foot; killed at the storming of Preston (Lancs), 12 November 1715;(2.3) Lt-Gen. Robert Anstruther (d. 1773) of Balgarvie (Fife); entered the army 1718 (Capt., 1718; Major, 1738; Lt-Col., 1745; Col., 1755; Maj-Gen. 1758; Lt-Gen., 1765) and fought at Dettingen, Fontenoy and Culloden; married, 11 August 1765 in Edinburgh, Lady Elizabeth (d. 1803 or 1804), daughter of Charles Maitland, 6th Earl of Lauderdale and widow of James Ogilvie of Inchmartin; died without issue; administration of goods (with will annexed) granted by PCC, 6 August 1773;(2.4) Margaret Anstruther (b. 1694), baptised at Linlithgow, 19 June 1694; probably died unmarried;(2.5) Christian Anstruther (d. 1760); married, 17 September 1716 in Edinburgh, Sir John Henderson (1686-c.1730), 3rd bt. of Fordel, and had issue two sons and four daughters; buried in Edinburgh, 5 February 1760;(2.6) Lt-Col. George Anstruther (b. 1696; fl. 1755), baptised at Linlithgow, 23 May 1696; an officer in 26th Foot (Lt-Col., 1755);(2.7) John Anstruther (b. 1701), born 3 January 1701; died young;(2.8) Jean Anstruther (d. 1778); married, 3/9 January 1720, James Makgill (d. 1747) of Rankeillor (Fife), de jure 4th Viscount of Oxfuird, but died without issue, 1778;(2.9) Alexander Anstruther (fl. 1716); an ensign in 26th Foot; died unmarried;(3.1) Anne Anstruther (b. c.1704/5); married, 26 October 1729 at Largo (Fife) as his second wife, James Durham (1678-1744?) of Largo and had issue three sons;(3.2) Isobel Anstruther (b. 1706), baptised 8 December 1706; probably died unmarried;(3.3) Maj. Charles Anstruther (1707-64), baptised at Carnbee, 25 December 1707; served in the Army (Major, 1737) but was apparently later an advocate in Edinburgh; died without issue, 1764;(3.4) Prestina Anstruther (b. 1709), baptised 13 August 1709; probably died unmarried;(3.5) Agnes Anstruther (1713-86), baptised 3 December 1713; died unmarried, 16 June 1786.He purchased the Balcaskie estate in 1698.He died March 1737. His first wife died without issue in 1686. The date of death of his second wife is unknown. His widow died April 1743.Anstruther, Sir Philip (1688-1763), 2nd bt. Eldest son of Sir Robert Anstruther (1658-1737), 1st bt. of Balcaskie, and his second wife, Jean, daughter and heir of William Monteith of Wrea, born 1688. A member of the Faculty of Advocates, 1711; one of the Principal Clerks to the Bills. Succeeded his father as 2nd bt., March 1737, and was served heir general, 2 February 1742. He married, c.1732, Catherine (1697-1759), eldest daughter of Lord Alexander Hay of Spott (East Lothian), and had issue:(1) Sir Robert Anstruther (1733-1818), 3rd bt. (q.v.);(2) Alexander Anstruther (b. 1734), baptised 26 February 1734; died young;(3) Catherine Anstruther (b. 1735), born 7 and baptised 10 April 1735; died young;(4) Col. John Anstruther (1736-1815), born 13 and baptised 19 May 1735; served in the army, 1751-82 (Lt., 1756; Capt., 1762; Major, 1766; Lt-Col, 1773; Col., 1780; retired 1782) and surrendered the 62nd Foot at Saratoga, 1777; prisoner, 1777-78 when he was released as part of a prisoner exchange; officer in Fifeshire Corps of Fencible Cavalry, 1794-97 (Major, 1794; Lt-Col., 1796; Col., 1797); married, 24 December 1774, Grizel Maria (d. 1795), daughter of John Thomson of Charleton House (Fife) and had issue four sons and two daughters, from whom descend the Anstruther-Thomson family who will be the subject of a future post; died 10 February 1815 and was buried at Kilconquhar (Fife);(5) Philip Anstruther (b. 1737; fl. 1765), born 7 and baptised 10 August 1737; married Anna Anderson and had issue two sons and two daughters;(6) Col. William Anstruther (1738-1805), baptised 24 July 1738; served in the army from 1755-77 (Lt., 1757; Capt., 1766; retired, 1777); settled at Bergen (New Jersey) 1777-79 but was re-commissioned in Royal Garrison Battalion (Major, 1779) and served in Bermuda, c.1782; later commissioned in Independent Company of Invalids (Lt-Col., 1790; Col., 1795) in Jersey; Commandant of Guernsey, 1795-1805; married Isabella McLeod (c.1750-1836) and had issue two sons and four daughters; died 1805 and was buried in St. Peter Port (Guernsey);(7) Capt. James Anstruther (1739-76), born 22 and baptised 25 July 1739; served in the Army from 1756 (Lt., 1759; Capt., 1770); died unmarried, 22 December 1776;(8) Jane/Jean Anstruther (b. 1740), born 26 and baptised 27 November 1740;(9) Christian Anstruther (1742-1803), baptised 28 February 1742; married, 22 May 1769, James Lumsdaine (d. 1820) of Innergellie, but died without issue; probably the person of this name buried at Cupar (Fife), 24 November 1803;(10) Catherine Anstruther (1743-1826), born 11 and baptised 15 May 1743; died unmarried, 7 March 1826 at Pittenweem (Fife);(11) Charles Anstruther (1746-78), born 13 and baptised 17 November 1746; died unmarried in Dominica, July 1778;(12) Agnes Anstruther (b. 1748), born 13 and baptised 14 September 1748; probably died young.He inherited the Balcaskie estate from his father in 1737 and acquired the neighbouring Carnbee estate in 1745. He made alterations to the house at Balcaskie, c.1750.He died 27 May 1763. His wife died at Balcaskie, 11 February 1759.Anstruther, Sir Robert (1733-1818), 3rd bt. Eldest son of Sir Philip Anstruther (1688-1763), 2nd bt., of Balcaskie, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Lord Alexander Hay of Spott (East Lothian), born 19 and baptised 21 April 1733. A member of the Faculty of Advocates and one of the principal Clerks to the Bills, but he lived principally at Balcaskie and devoted himself to country pursuits. He succeeded his father as 3rd bt., 27 May 1763. He married, 17 August 1763, Lady Janet (1742-70), youngest daughter of Alexander Erskine, 5th Earl of Kellie, and had issue:(1) Janet Anstruther (1764-98), born 25 and baptised 28 May 1764; married, 28 September 1797, Sir Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange (1756-1841), later Chief Justice of Madras (who married 2nd, 1806, Louisa Burroughes) and had issue one daughter (who died in infancy); died in Madras, 14 May 1798, reputedly of complications following childbirth;(2) Catherine Anstruther (c.1765-1820); died unmarried, 22 September 1820 and was buried at St George, Hanover Square, 4 October 1820; administration of goods with will annexed granted, 14 March 1821(3) Elizabeth Anstruther (1766-1839), born 30 October 1766; married, 23 February or 7 March 1787, Col. Colin Campbell (c.1761-1839) of Stonefield and had issue three sons; died 1839;(4) Robert Anstruther (1768-1809) (q.v.);(5) Sir Alexander Anstruther (1769-1819), kt. of Thirdpart (Fife), born 10 September 1769; educated at Wadham College, Oxford (matriculated 1785) and Lincolns Inn (called to bar 1792); barrister-at-law; went to India, 1798; Advocate-General in Madras, 1803-12; Recorder of Bombay, 1812-18; knighted, 9 April 1813; married, 14 March 1803, Sarah (d. 1865), daughter of Thomas Prendergast of Croan (Ireland) and widow of Capt. W. Selby of Hon. East India Co. service, and had issue four sons and five daughters; died 16 July 1819 in Mauritius; will proved 28 May 1821;(6) Philip Anstruther (1770-96), born 4 October 1770; officer in the Royal Navy; died 23 July 1796.He inherited the Balcaskie estate from his father in 1763 and purchased an estate at Watten (Caithness) in about 1780. At his death he was succeeded by his grandson, Sir Ralph Abercromby Anstruther (1804-63), 4th bt. (q.v.).He died at Balcaskie, 2 August 1818. His wife died 14 October 1770.Anstruther, Brig-Gen. Robert (1768-1809). Eldest son of Sir Robert Anstruther (1733-1818), 3rd bt., of Balcaskie, and his wife Lady Janet, youngest daughter of Alexander Erskine, 5th Earl of Kellie, born 3 and baptised 7 March 1768. Educated at Westminster School. An officer in the Army, 1788-1809 (Capt., 1792; Major, 1797; Lt-Col, 1797; Brig-Gen., 1808); served in Flanders, 1793-94 and West Indies, 1797-99; Quartermaster General in Mediterranean, 1800 under Gen. Sir Ralph Abercromby; Adjutant-General in Ireland, 1802; served in Peninsula Campaigns, where he fought at the Battle of Vimiera and commanded the rearguard of Sir John Moore's retreat to Corunna, 1809. Appointed a knight of the Crescent (Egypt). He married, 19 March 1799 at Margate (Kent), Lucy Charlotte (1778-1833), only daughter of Lt-Col. James Hamilton of Coldstream Guards, and had issue:(1) Jane Anstruther (1801-65), born 13 January and baptised 21 June 1801; married, 21 January 1822, John Dalyell (d. 1843) of Lingo (Fife), provost of Cupar, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 13 March 1865;(2) Sir Ralph Abercromby Anstruther (1804-63), 4th bt. (q.v.);(3) Charlotte Lucy Anstruther (1805-90), born 11 April in Dublin and baptised 11 May 1805; died unmarried, 5 January 1890;(4) Capt. James Hamilton Anstruther (later Lloyd-Anstruther) (1806-82) of Hintlesham Hall (Suffolk), born 20 December 1806; JP and DL for Suffolk; Capt. in 46th Regiment; married 1st, 6 December 1838, Georgiana Charlotte (d. 1843), daughter of Hon. Lindsey Merrik Peter Burrell and had issue one son, from whom descend the Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe baronets, who will be the subject of a future post; married 2nd, 1 November 1847, Hon. Georgiana Christiana Barrington (d. 1881), daughter of 5th Viscount Barrington and had issue four sons; died 23 December 1882;(5) Elizabeth Christian Anstruther (1808-1893), born 23 March and baptised 18 April 1808; married, 2 November 1837, Rev. William Henry Deane (1799-1854), rector of Hintlesham, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 7 December 1893.He died of exhaustion at Corunna, 14 January 1809, in the lifetime of his father, and was buried next to Sir John Moore. His widow died 2 February 1833.

Sir R.A. Anstruther

Anstruther, Capt. Sir Ralph Abercromby (1804-63), 4th bt. Eldest son of Brig-Gen. Robert Anstruther (1768-1809) and his wife Charlotte Lucy, only daughter of Lt-Col. James Hamilton, born in London, 1 March and baptised 13 May 1804; educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (MA 1822); Captain in Grenadier Guards (retired 1829). He succeeded his grandfather as 4th bt., 2 August 1818. Convenor of Fife, 1855-60; Rector of St. Andrews University, 1859-63. He married, 2 September 1831 at Lambeth (Surrey), Mary Jane (1811-86), daughter of Maj-Gen. Sir Henry Torrens KCB and had issue including:(1) Lucy Charlotte Anstruther (1833-1903), born 12 April and baptised 13 June 1833; married, 12 August 1852, Capt. Sir Alexander Kinloch (1830-1912), 10th bt. of Gilmerton, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 14 November 1903;(2) Sir Robert Anstruther (1834-86), 5th bt. (q.v.);(3) Henry Anstruther (1836-54), born 4 June 1836; served as a Lieutenant in Welsh Fusiliers and was killed at the Battle of Alma, 20 September 1854;(4) Hamilton Anstruther (1842-73), born 11 August 1842; appointed commissioner to inquire into the jute industry in India, c.1872; died unmarried at Alexandria, 4 September 1873;(5) Mary Anstruther (c.1845-1911); married, 20 June 1867 at St Paul, Kensington, Charles Hugh Berners (1842-1919) of Woolverstone Park (Suffolk), son of Capt. Hugh Berners, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died at Marseilles (France), 17 April 1911; will proved 2 August 1911 (estate £1,941).He inherited the Balcaskie estate from his grandfather in 1818 and came of age in 1825. He made alterations to the house and gardens in 1827-34, 1848 and 1856.He died 18 October 1863. His widow married 2nd, 14 November 1868 at Edinburgh, William Talbot Talbot-Crosbie (d. 1899) of Ardfert Abbey (Kerry), died 26 August 1886 and was buried at Ardfert.Anstruther, Lt-Col. Sir Robert (1834-86), 5th bt. Eldest son of Sir Ralph Abercromby Anstruther (1804-63), 4th bt., and his wife Mary Jane (1811-86), daughter of Maj-Gen. Sir Henry Torrens KCB, born 28 August 1834 at Edinburgh. Educated at Harrow. Served in Grenadier Guards 1853-62 (Lt-Col., 1861) and saw action in the Crimea and Canada; MP for Fifeshire, 1864-80 and St. Andrews, 1885-86. Lord Lieutenant of Fife, 1864-86. He married, 20 July 1857 at Beckenham (Kent), Louisa Maria Chowne (d. 1913), daughter of Rev. William Knox Marshall, vicar of Wragby (Lincs) and prebendary of Hereford Cathedral, and had issue:(1) Sir Ralph William Anstruther (1858-1934), 6th bt. (q.v.);(2) Mary Evelyn Anstruther (1859-1921), born July 1859; died 2 January 1921;(3) Henry Torrens Anstruther (1860-1926), born 27 November 1860; educated at Eton and Edinburgh University; advocate in Scotland, 1884; Liberal Unionist MP for St Andrews, 1886-1903; Government Whip, 1895-1903; member of administrative council of Suez Canal, 1903; JP for Buckinghamshire and Fife; married, 24 August 1889 (sep. 1912), Hon. Dame Eva Hanbury-Tracy DBE (1869-1935), eldest daughter of 4th Baron Sudeley and had issue one son and one daughter; died 5 April 1926;(4) Admiral Robert Hamilton Anstruther CMG (1862-1938), born 10 June 1862; an officer in the Royal Navy (Lt. 1885; Commander, 1897; Capt., 1904; Commodore, 1912; Rear-Admiral, 1915; retired, 1916; Vice-Admiral, 1919; Admiral, 1924) who served as senior naval officer on Danube, 1900-02; North Sea Fisheries, 1902-04; Newfoundland fisheries, 1906-08; Hong Kong and coast of China, 1912-16; appointed CMG 1907 and awarded Order of Rising Sun (2nd class), Japan; married, 6 January 1890, Edith Flora (d. 1944), daughter of William Felton Peel and had issue one son; died 26 September 1938;(5) Arthur Wellesley Anstruther CB (1864-1938), born 5 March 1864; Capt. in Fife Artillery Militia; private secretary to President of Board of Agriculture & Fisheries, 1892-98; Chief Clerk to Board, 1898-1902; Assistant Secretary to Board, 1902-20; author of the History of the family of Anstruther, 1923; married 1st, 26 April 1893, Hon. Mary Elma Cumming-Bruce (d. 1894), daughter of 5th Baron Thurlow; married 2nd, 21 October 1901 (Louisa Adele) Rose (d. 1962), daughter of William Hume Trapman of Charleston (South Carolina) and London and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 20 October 1938.He inherited the Balcaskie estate from his father in 1863.He died 21 July 1886. His widow died at Shamley Green (Surrey), 25 January 1913; her will was proved 3 April 1913 (estate £6,822).Anstruther, Lt-Col. Sir Ralph William (1858-1934), 6th bt. Eldest son of Lt-Col. Sir Robert Anstruther (1834-86), 5th bt. and his wife Louisa Maria Chowne, daughter of Rev. William Knox Marshall, born 5 July and baptised at Beckenham. Educated at Eton; Hon. LL.D (St Andrews Univ). An officer in the Royal Engineers, 1877-90, serving in Egypt, 1883 and on the Bechuanaland expedition, 1884-85; later Lt-Col. commanding 6th Fifeshire Volunteer Battalion of Royal Highlanders and Hon. Col. of 6th/7th Battn. JP for Fife and JP and DL for Caithness; Lord Lieutenant of Fife, 1923-34. He succeeded his father as 6th bt, 21 July 1886. He married, 5 August 1885 at St Mark, North Audley Street, London, Mildred Harriet CBE (1863-1952), daughter of Edward Hussey of Scotney Castle and Lamberhurst (Kent), and had issue:(1) Margaret Christian Anstruther (1887-1925), born 16 August 1887; died unmarried, 8 September 1925;(2) Magdalen Janet Anstruther (1889-1953), born 19 April 1889; married, 14 August 1911, Lt-Col. Sir Thomas Wilfred Hargreaves John Erskine DSO (1880-1944), 4th bt. of Cambo and had issue two sons and six daughters; died 15 February 1953;(3) Robert Edward Anstruther (1890-1921) (q.v.);(4) Sarah Katherine Anstruther (1894-1952), born 28 September 1894; JP for Fife; died unmarried, 22 December 1952;(5) Elizabeth Mildred Louisa Anstruther (1896-1932), born 29 April 1896; married, 20 October 1920, Maj. Julian Neil Oscar Rycroft DSO MC (1892-1928), only son of Maj-Gen. Sir William Henry Rycroft KCB KCMG and had issue two daughters; died 11 September 1932;(6) Gertrude Mary Anstruther (1900-75), born 9 March 1900; Headmistress of St. James' School, West Malvern, 1948-60; Assistant Prof. of English, Hood College, Maryland, 1961-62 and Coffey College, Nevada, 1962-64; died unmarried, 10 April 1975.He inherited the Balcaskie estate from his father in 1886. At his death his title and estates passed to his grandson, Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther (1921-2002), 7th bt. (q.v.).He died 30 September 1934. His widow died 25 April 1952.Anstruther, Capt. Robert Edward (1890-1921). Only son of Lt-Col. Sir Ralph William Anstruther (1858-1934), 6th bt., of Balcaskie, and his wife Mildred Harriet, daughter of Edward Hussey of Scotney Castle (Kent), born 4 April 1890. Served in the Royal Highlanders from 1909 (Lt. 1912; Capt. 1914; Temp. Col.) and was twice wounded and awarded the MC and the Croix de Guerre with palms. He married, 16 June 1919 at Naas (Kildare), Margeurite Lily Blanche (1897-1992), only daughter of Hugo de Burgh of Ballinapierce (Wexford), and had issue:(1) Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther (1921-2002), 7th bt. (q.v.).He died from the effects of his wounds, 22 July 1921, in the lifetime of his father. His widow died 12 July 1992.Anstruther, Sir Ralph Hugo (1921-2002), 7th and 12th bt. Only child of Capt. Robert Edward Anstruther (1890-1921) and his wife Margeurite, daughter of Hugo de Burgh of Ballinapierce (Wexford), born 13 June 1921. His father died a month after he was born and since his mother disliked Balcaskie, he was brought up mainly at his grandmother's family home, Scotney Castle. Educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge (BA 1940). Major in Coldstream Guards, 1941-59; served in WW2 (wounded) and Malaya (mentioned in despatches); member of the Royal Company of Archers. Assistant Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, 1959-64; Equerry, 1959-2002; Treasurer of Queen Mother's Household, 1961-98 and Treasurer Emeritus, 1998-2002. DL for Fife and Caithness. Succeeded his grandfather as 7th bt. of Balcaskie, 30 September 1934, and his distant kinsman as 12th bt. of Anstruther, 1980. Hereditary Carver to the Sovereign in Scotland. He was appointed MC 1943, CVO 1967, KCVO 1976, GCVO 1993. He was unmarried and without issue.He inherited the Balcaskie estate from his grandfather in 1934 and restored the house in the 1980s. At his death his titles passed to his second cousin once removed, Sir Ian Fife Campbell Anstruther (1922-2007), 8th and 13th bt (q.v.); Balcaskie having been made over some years earlier to Sir Ian's second son, Tobias (k/a Toby) Alexander Campbell Anstruther (b. 1968).He died 19 May 2002.

Sir Ian Anstruther (1922-2007)

Anstruther, Sir Ian Fife Campbell (1922-2007), 8th and 13th bt. Second but only surviving son of Douglas Tollemache Anstruther (1893-1956) and his first wife, Enid (d. 1964), second daughter of Lord George Granville Campbell, born 11 May 1922. His early life was blighted by his parents' divorce and subsequent custody proceedings, 1924-38, and he was largely brought up by his mother's sister, Joan Campbell. Educated at Eton and New College, Oxford (BA 1942). Captain in Royal Corps of Signals, 1942-47; member of Royal Company of Archers. Attaché at the British embassy in Washington DC (USA) and private secretary to Lord Inverchapel, the ambassador, 1947-51; historian and writer; author of works including I Presume, 1956 (a biography of H.M. Stanley); The Knight and the Umbrella, 1963 (on the Eglinton tournament); The scandal of the Andover Workhouse, 1973; Oscar Browning, 1983 (a biography); Coventry Patmore's Angel, 1992 (a biography of Patmore and his wife) and The Baronets' Champion, 2006. Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London; a major benefactor of the London Library, where he funded the Anstruther Wing, 1992, and of Cambridge University Library; founder of the Anstruther Literary Trust. He succeeded his second cousin once removed, Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther, in the baronetcies of Balcaskie and Anstruther in 2002, and believed he had also inherited the British baronetcy created for the 4th bt. of Anstruther in 1798, although this had in reality become extinct in 1980. He married 1st, 7 March 1951 (div. 1963), (Geraldine) Honor (d. 2002), elder daughter of Capt. Gerald Stuart Blake MC of Clock House, Lindfield, Sussex, and 2nd, 15 November 1963, Susan Margaret Walker RIBA (b. 1930), daughter of Henry St. John Brading Paten, and had issue:(1.1) (Emily) Kate Campbell Anstruther (b. 1953); married 1st. 1975 (div. 1986) Malcolm Harrison and had issue two sons and two daughters, and 2nd, 1988 (Andrew) Simon Basil Crosby of Hindleap Corner, Forest Row (Sussex), son of Andrew Basil Crosby MBE;(2.1) Sir Sebastian Paten Campbell Anstruther (b. 1962), 9th and 14th bt. of Barlavington, born 13 September 1962; born before his parents' marriage but legitimated under Scots law by their marriage and thereby enabled to inherit his father's titles; inherited the Barlavington estate from his father, 2007; married, 1992, Pornpan (k/a Goy) Pinitwong of Thailand and had issue one son and one daughter;(2.2) Lucy Anstruther (b. & d. 1964); died June 1964;(2.3) Rachel Whittome Campbell Anstruther (b. 1965), born 28 August 1965;(2.4) Harriet (k/a Hattie) Joan Campbell Anstruther (b. 1967), born 24 March 1967; writer and designer; married 1st, 19 July 1991 (div. 1995) Hamish Howard Anthony Summers, son of Anthony Gilbert Summers, and had issue one daughter; 2nd, 27 July 2002, Henry Bourne, son of Prof. Kenneth Bourne;(2.5) Tobias (k/a Toby) Alexander Campbell Anstruther (b. 1968) (q.v.);(2.6) Eleanor Thurloe Campbell Anstruther (b. 1971) of Chiddingfold, Dunsfold (Surrey), born 30 March 1971; married, 2005, Geoffrey A. Tanner.He purchased the 3,000 acre Barlavington estate in Sussex in 1956 and unexpectedly inherited an estate in South Kensington (including Thurloe Square and Alexander Square) from his aunt, Joan Campbell, in 1960, which made him wealthy. He also bought an estate at Hascombe (Surrey) in 1972 and a house near St. Tropez (France) in 1973. At his death Barlavington passed to his elder son and Hascombe to his younger son. He died at Barlavington, 29 July 2007; his will was proved in 2008 (estate in excess of £35m). His first wife died 22 December 2002. His widow is now living.Anstruther, Tobias (k/a Toby) Alexander Campbell (b. 1968). Second son of Sir Ian Fife Campbell Anstruther (1922-2007), 8th and 13th bt., born 16 December 1968. Chief of Clan Anstruther and Hereditary Carver to the Sovereign in Scotland. At the time of his father's death in 2007 it was widely reported that he had inherited his father's British baronetcy as the eldest son of his father born in wedlock, but this baronetcy had in fact expired in 1980. He married, 1996, Kate, daughter of Thomas Pevsner (1926-2014) and granddaughter of Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the architectural historian, and had issue:(1) Madeleine Isobel Anstruther (b. 2000), born 9 April 2000;(2) Alexander Thomas Anstruther (b. 2002), born 14 May 2002.He was given the Balcaskie estate by Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther, 7th and 12th bt., some years before his death, and inherited the Hascombe estate from his father in 2007. He has been an active director of the South Kensington estate.Now living.

About Me

I was educated at St Paul's School in London and Keble College, Oxford and went on to train as an archivist in the world-famous Bodleian Library. I spent 37 years as a professional archivist, and was Chairman of the National Council on Archives from 2001 to 2005, and Head of Archives Sector Development and Secretary of the Historical Manuscripts Commission at the National Archives from 2005 until I retired in May 2015.

Alongside my professional career I have also been an architectural historian of the country house. This is a passion nurtured at Oxford, where I was President of the University Architectural Society. Between 1989 and 2001 my three volume study of The country houses of Gloucestershire was published, and my distinctive contribution has been to put together the evidence for the history of country houses and landed estates that can be gleaned from family archives and genealogy with the evidence from the buildings themselves, to tell a richer narrative than any of these sources alone can provide. I am now embarked on an ambitious blog (http://landedfamilies.blogspot.co.uk), which aims to tell the story of every landed family in the British Isles and their country houses. If I continue working hard until I am a centenarian I might finish the job!

Since one big project is never enough, I am also involved as a Trustee and volunteer with the Victoria County History of England, which aims to tell the story of every English village and town, and I do some advisory work for the National Trust, which looks after so many of the country houses I care passionately about.

I have been married for 37 years to my precious and special wife Mary, who mercifully tolerates my obsessions and collections, and even my cooking.